Gabriel's Gift [antikvár]

Chapter One 'School - how was, today?' 'Learning makes me feel ignorant/ said Gabriel. 'Has Dad rung?' As well as the fact he didn't know where his father was, something strange was happening to the weather in Gabriel's neighbourhood. That morning, when he left for school with Hannah, there was a light spring shower, and it was autumn. By the time they had reached the school gates, a layer of snow sat on their hats. At lunch-time in the playground, the hot floodlight of the sun - suddenly illuminated like a lamp - had been so bright the kids played in shirtsleeves. In the late afternoon, when he and Hannah were hurrying home along the edge of the park, Gabriel became certain that the leaves in the park were being plucked from the ground and fluttered back to the trees from which they had fallen, before turning green again. From the corner of his eye, Gabriel noticed something even odder. A row of daffodils were lifting their heads and dropping them like bowing ballerinas at the end of a performance. When one of them winked, Gabriel looked around before gripping Hannah's hairy hand, something he had always been reluctant to do, particularly if a friend might see him. But today was different: the world was losing its mind. 'Has he been in touch?' Gabriel asked. Hannah was the foreign au pair. 'Who?' she said. 'My father.' 'Certainly no. Gone away! Gone!' Gabriel's father had left home, at Mum's instigation, three months ago. Unusually, it had been several days since he had phoned, and at least two weeks since Gabriel had seen him. Gabriel determined that as soon as they got back he would